Honor is 10th consecutive for Doctors Hospital, sixth consecutive for Sarasota Memorial
Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Doctors Hospital of Sarasota both have earned an A from a national nonprofit organization for keeping patients safe from medical errors, infections, accidents and other preventable harm, the medical centers announced on May 15.
This marked the 10th consecutive time Doctors Hospital has earned the A rating, the medical center pointed out in a news release.
This was the sixth consecutive A for Sarasota Memorial, it noted in a separate release.
“Earning an A rating ten times in a row is an accomplishment few hospitals have,” Doctors Hospital CEO Robert Meade said in that medical center’s news release. “This shows our entire team is committed to providing safe and compassionate care to every patient, every day. I thank them for their dedication to our community,” he added.
“Our successive awards are a testament to the diligence of our entire team to put safety first,” said Sarasota Memorial Chief Medical Officer James Fiorica, M.D., in that facility’s release. “We are grateful for the recognition and proud to set the benchmark for quality care in our community.”
The Leapfrog Group assigned U.S. hospitals A, B, C, D or F safety grades based on their performance in a variety of areas.
In Leapfrog’s Spring 2019 report, the Sarasota Memorial release explained, researchers found that when compared to A hospitals:
- “Patients at D and F hospitals face a 92% greater risk of avoidable death.
- “Patients at C hospitals on average face an 88% greater risk of avoidable death.
- “Patients at B hospitals on average face a 35% greater risk of avoidable death.”
The researches noted that 50,000 lives would have been saved if all hospitals had an avoidable death rate equivalent to A hospitals, the Sarasota Memorial release pointed out.
“Hospitals that earn an A grade are making it a priority to protect patients from preventable medical harm and error,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, in the Sarasota Memorial release. “To be recognized nationally as an A hospital is an accomplishment the whole community should take pride in.”
Of more than 2,600 hospitals graded, 32% earned an A; 26% earned a B; 36% earned a C; 6%, a D; and just under 1%, an F, the release noted. “Leapfrog’s Hospital Safety Grades are calculated by top patient safety experts twice each year to help patients quickly assess and choose the safest local hospitals to seek care. In its latest report card, the expert panel used 28 measures of publicly available hospital data,” the release explained.
“Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses a peer-reviewed, transparent methodology to assess hospital safety,” the release added. “Results are based on performance measures from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey and Health Information Technology Supplement,” the release pointed out. To access the full results and patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.